The Ghost Touch
by MckennaTennyson-Harper12
Summary: Emma and Mikael Danielson are your average 15-year-old kids... except for the part where Emma has an alternate self with ghostly powers, and Mikael can communicate with the spirits. Yep. Normal teens. But then came that fateful day when they joined a team of teen heroes, and any semblance of normal went out the window. T rating to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so I finally finished the first chapter of Emma's new story. Who's Emma? It's Spirit. I told you I was making some changes, and her name ended up being one of...** ** _many_** **changes that were made. I'm hoping that people are right and third time** ** _is_** **the charm. To the best of my abilities, I'll also be trying to update more. I want to try and update every Monday or Tuesday(potentially every other since I get pretty busy with school and life in general), but I cannot promise anything. I'll definitely try to update more though, so please look forward to that.**

 **I don't own Young Justice. If I did, we'd have gotten season 3 by now.**

* * *

In this small house in the suburbs of Fawcett City, all seemed quiet. The only sounds were from video game consoles; a Nintendo 64 and a PlayStation, on which two teens were playing their respective favorite games. The pair was nearly identical, were it not for their genders. The girl, who played on the PlayStation and wore a silver Chocobo charm around her neck, was playing Final Fantasy VIII for about the millionth time, while the boy, using a different game, had several piercings, a black and gray henley, and played his own favorite game, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Thus far, the male had been attempting to get through the same dungeon he always struggled with, before his blue orbs averted to his sister, who seemed to be struggling to decide what to do next. "Hey, Em?" he said hesitantly, sitting up a bit straighter. "I... may or may not need help with the Water Temple again... it's not being nice to me."

The girl, Emma, sighed and finally made her choice on the strategy she was going with. Without looking away from her screen, she simply said, "Just let me finish up with Ifrit and I'll be right with you; I'm almost done with him."

A few more button presses later, and Emma smiled, scooting over to help her brother, who handed her the controller in hopes she could figure out what he couldn't. After several squabbles about who got to use the old, outdated TV they'd originally used, they'd both given up and gotten jobs, working until they managed to get two small, but adequate TV screens so that they wouldn't have any more of those petty arguments. Once she'd gotten him through the puzzles, she handed him the controller and simply said, "Y'know, one of these days, you're going to have to do this for yourself, Mikael."

Mikael frowned, averting his eyes from his other half to stare at the floor, suddenly finding it quite interesting. "I know, Ems, I know, but... We're a duo, a single soul split between two bodies... I don't want our team getting split up, not like what almost happened when our powers first kicked in," he said quietly, cringing as he the memory flashed through his eyes.

Emma frowned a little, removing the controller from his hands and setting it just to the side of the console before giving him a warm embrace. "Stop it. We both know that it wasn't you; you weren't yourself," she said firmly. "Our first case wasn't your fault."

"Yeah, it was. That thing was only able to do what it did because I was so jealous, and because of that, not only did I almost miss out on a relationship with you, but I almost hurt you," he argued. "We're twins, and we're connected in a way that not all twins are. I never would've forgiven myself if I lost that bond with you."

She sighed, honestly understanding where he was coming from. She wished to comfort him, but she wasn't sure what she could say that would help. She was about to respond with the best thing she could come up with, but then a loud voice reverberated through the house, calm but firm: Their mother. "Em, Mikael, there's people here to see you!"

The twins took a moment to lock blue eyes in confusion. All their friends were either at some kind of camp or vacation, aside from Billy, who tended to just use the spare key in their hanging plant basket and usually spent the evenings with his uncle, so who could it possibly be at this hour?

Deciding they should get it over with, they began heading downstairs to their rooms, Mikael taking the lead and Emma following hesitantly behind. They immediately straightened up when they saw the superheroes waiting in the living room for them: Batman and Wonder Woman.

"Mom, why are there superheroes in our living room?" Mikael said slowly, him and Emma doing everything they could to keep distance between themselves and the supers as they found seats on the couch. He then grasped his sister's hand firmly, noting that her social anxieties were getting to her and that she was trying not to hyperventilate.

"Mikael, Emma," Dang, it was _weird_ to hear their names coming from the Amazon's mouth! "We've heard that you're both quite special."

Mikael was about to ask her what she meant, before tensing as Batman handed a printed piece of paper to his mom... _Crud_... Say goodbye to the new Kingdom Hearts game they'd been wanting for their birthday. Why exactly? Well, when you go into the field of paranormal investigation at the ripe old age of 13, make a website so it'll be easier to find cases, and don't tell your parents about it...

"Emma, Mikael," Yep, there was the Mom voice and not just any Mom voice, but the Mom voice of Brigitte Danielson. The twins had this theory that the reason they'd _actually_ stopped pulling their mom's hair, was because of her Mom voice, scaring them out of doing it. "Why am I finding out from superheroes instead of you that you're ghost hunters?"

"Paranormal Investigators," the twins corrected out of habit, before realizing the error in this and sharing a look to figure out what to say. After some silent deliberation, Emma turned towards her mom and said quietly, "W-We wanted to tell you, we really did-" "But we didn't know _how_ to tell you, or more importantly, how you'd react," Mikael jumped in, sensing how uncomfortable his sister was talking about this.

The blonde woman gave her children a stern look before sighing and turning her gaze to her lap. "I suppose I should've seen it coming. You two have these amazing abilities, and I can't really blame you for wanting to use them," she decided. "I just wish it'd been you two that told me instead of Batman."

"We're really sorry Mom," Mikael promised. "We originally didn't even want to do it, but the ghosts wouldn't leave me alone until I agreed to do it; Emma just kinda got roped in when I started running into the violent ones."

"But... the print out doesn't explain why _you're_ here," Emma said honestly, slowly gathering the courage to look at the Justice Leaguers.

"Yeah, unless you just didn't approve of us doing this without our parents knowing we were doing it," Mikael said casually, subconsciously playing with his industrial piercing.

"It wasn't about your parents approving of your line of work," Wonder Woman said honestly, her stance firm but gentle. "However, we do require your mother's approval."

"The League is forming a group of young heroes to perform stealth operations, and we believe that your particular skill set would be ideal," Batman said simply, cutting right to the chase. "However, we're only interested in Emma."

The twins both tensed, quickly locking eyes in shock. For as long as either of them could remember, they'd never been apart for any longer than three hours at the most. However, by Batman's tone, Emma wouldn't be able to spend much time with her brother anymore if she did this. After a moment, they diverted their eyes to their laps. What to do? Mikael wanted Emma to do this, but he highly doubted she would unless he was there. He was about to make the choice for her, tell her to go and do this for herself if nobody else, but before he could, Emma stood instead.

Her form was tense, and though she was shaking, her voice was firm. "I'm very grateful that you considered me for this, but I'm afraid that unless you allow my brother to come along as well, I'll have to decline. Mikael and I are a package deal, the Dynamic Duo of Paranormal Investigations; we can't be separated. While I'm quite honored, I'll be staying in Fawcett City with my brother unless he's included as well.

Mikael was honestly shocked. He meant no offense, but his sister was normally a freaking wuss outside her ghostly form! She never stood up to playground bullies, let alone superheroes! Was it just different when it came to him? It suddenly occurred to him that every time Emma had been brave in human form, it had been when he was involved somehow. In sixth grade, she'd shakily stood up to a teacher when he tried to give her brother a bad grade because of sloppy handwriting(it wasn't his fault his right arm had been broken!), and then later in 8th, she'd pulled every string she could to help them get the same classes.

Even Wonder Woman(not Batman, being all stoic and stuff) was surprised at the girl's boldness. Whatever file they might've had must've told them that Emma wasn't normally like this.

The two supers shared a look, like 'is she serious? I think she's serious', before they returned their gaze to the twins. "Very well, we can accept those terms," Wonder Woman agreed. "Mikael, Emma, you're both welcome, so long as your mother says it is okay."

They quickly turned their gaze to their light haired mother, who sighed softly but smiled. "I doubt I'd be able to stop you two. You can join, but be careful; I want my children in one piece."

"We'll be careful Mom," Mikael promised as the twins enveloped their mother in a big hug. "And hey, it's shadow work, so we should be fine."

"They'll be safe Mrs. Danielson. Not only because it'll be stealth operations, but because their teammates will be looking out for them," Batman said honestly, passing the twins a second sheet of paper. "The Martian Manhunter will meet you both at that address tomorrow morning at 7 with his niece, who will also be joining the team. Please be suited up, and ready for your introduction."

The twins simply nodded, though they internally groaned at the time. They _hated_ early mornings, but they'd already had to convince Bats and Wondy to let them both join, so they'd gladly be there.

* * *

"... Batman needs a team that can operate on the sly," a distinctly male voice explained to the other members of the team.

"The seven of you will be that team," Batman finished.

"Cool!" another male, but seemingly younger, voice exclaimed. "Wait, seven?"

The Dark Knight merely lifted his head, ever so slightly, to signal as the twins, Manhunter, and the young Martian girl exited the tube-shaped contraption.

"This is the Martian Manhunter's niece, Miss Martian, and Spirit and Shadow; Paranormal Investigators from Fawcett City."

"Hi," Miss M said shyly, barely waving at the group.

"S'up," Mikael said with a smile, waving ever so slightly. Just at a first glance, he could see a raven that he figured had to be related to Superman in some way, a kid that he'd have to make sure was a natural redhead later, a sandy blonde who he'd have to ask about his real eye color, and a scrawny kid in sunglasses.

"Pleasure," Emma squeaked out, kinda hiding behind her brother. Try as he might, Mikael hadn't been able to convince his sister to change forms before they left, so all the confidence she usually had as Spirit was nowhere to be seen.

"Liking this gig more every minute," the redhead mumbled to one of his friends before walking closer. "Welcome aboard! I'm Kid Flash. That's Robing, Aqualad; it's cool if you forget their names."

"I'm honored to be included," Miss Martian said simply, the other teens walking over, though the kid with the black and red 'S' shirt was still brooding, though his friends soon invited him over as well.

As he approached, Miss M shifted away her cape and turned the t-shirt underneath to pitch black. "I... Like your shirt," she said shyly.

Emma slowly backed up, incredibly overwhelmed. What had she been thinking?! Her social anxiety and being social? It just didn't mix! Her brother soon noticed she'd slipped away, going to join her. "You okay?"

"I-I just need time to adjust," she said quietly, holding herself tightly as she played with the Chocobo charm around her neck.

"You like Final Fantasy?" Emma lifted her head, turning to see the scrawny raven approaching and gesturing to Emma's shirt and necklace.

"Y-Yeah, it's my favorite game series," she said quietly, subconsciously readjusting her green sweater.

"Which one's your favorite?" he said softly, holding his hand out for a handshake. "I'm partial to VI myself. Name's Robin."

Emma took a breath before shaking hands with him. "E-Emma... I like VII and VIII," she said quietly, almost silent.

"I can see why," Robin said with an earnest smile. "Yeah, the graphics are dated compared to the newer games, but they've still got great stories, and they're still fun, and having fun is all that matters."

"I know," Emma agreed, smiling softly as she began to relax, even if only a bit. Any Final Fantasy fans she might happen to meet on the street tended to put her down for liking FFVII, so it was refreshing to meet someone who acknowledged what those games gave to the franchise. "I might be biased because VII was my first Final Fantasy game, and Squall and I have similar scars though..."

"Hey, it's cool to be biased. I mean, I like VI because it was my first game in the franchise, but I still like all the others," the Boy Wonder said with a smile, pocketing his hands.

Mikael slipped away as they continued to talk of the world of Final Fantasy. He enjoyed seeing his sister get along so well with someone instead of getting bullied, so he thought it'd be good for her to let her own friendship bloomed. So, he simply moved to talk with his other new teammates.

Today was turning out to be a great day.

* * *

 **And that's the first chapter for Spirit's (Hopefully) Final reboot. What'd you think?**

 **Constructive criticism only please.**

 **Signing off,**

 **MckennaTennyson-Harper12**


	2. Chapter 2

**Mailbox time!**

 **Guest: The origins of her powers are actually on her profile on my DeviantArt, but I can explain it here for people who don't follow me there. Emma and Mikael's powers are similar to the Danny Phantom Powers but not the same ones as before. She's down to flight, transformation, intangibility, invisibility, and ghost blasts. However, the ghost blasts are very energy draining; they're the last resort power for if she has no alternative. Also, her personality does a complete flip-flop when she transforms, so if she's out of character during fights, that's why. Mikael, on the other hand, has more communicative powers, his being seeing and hearing spirits, and occasionally sensing them. Emma does _not_ have that power, and thus, she needs her brother to tell her exactly where to hit when they're on a job.**

 **Now, as for why the League only wanted Emma... they actually did want both, but it was a loyalty test to make sure he could handle himself. He's going to get some more powers; just give it time.**

 **Um... I'll think about it for shipping. The majority of this story is probably going to be character building for the Danielson twins.**

 **Also, the mentor for the twins will be revealed in this chap. He's not really 'ghostly', but he** ** _is_** **well-versed in the supernatural. Here's hoping this character will be a good fit for them. He normally wouldn't be the 'mentor' type, but let's say that he owes the League a few favors.**

 **Oh, and the bullying thing has an explanation too. They aren't bullied for being nerds. In fact, Emma is the only one of the pair that gets bullied. Emma is incredibly shy and a total doormat, making her an easy target. Her brother just ends up in the middle of it trying to protect her.**

 **nightmareonholoween: I'm glad you enjoy it. :)**

 **fantasy.92: Sorry, the update took so long... he...**

 **Guest 2: Sorry this update took so long; I got majorly sidetracked.**

* * *

 **?**

 **July 12**

"Okay, Bats, why are we out in the middle of nowhere when we should likely be training to catch up with the others?" Mikael demanded with his arms crossed from the backseat of the Batplane next to his sister. He was doing everything he could to not go full on fanboy. After all, he'd looked up to the Bat for years! However, he was able to mask his true feelings behind the one thing he knew better than the Zelda timelines: teenaged attitude.

"You two might have a handle on your abilities, but the person we're going to see can help you fine tune your skills; he's an expert in the supernatural," Batman said simply, landing the plane.

Once the trio made it out, Batman looked towards the empty space on the hill they were on top of. "House? I need to call in some of those favors that John owes me and the rest of the League."

In a bright flash of light, the teens could only stare as a lovely old house appeared on the hill, and a tall, blonde man in a tan coat stepped out, walking down and over to the Dark Knight. "Alright, Bats, talk; what the bloody hell is this about? Who're the kids?"

Batman simply narrowed his eyes. "John Constantine, these are the Danielson twins; Mikael and Emma.," he explained, gesturing to the pair of brunettes just to the side of him. "Their powers are supernatural in origin, so I'm calling in those favors and asking you to train them."

"Oh, hell no! Come on, Bats, you know I don't do kids," the blonde said firmly.

"They're teenagers."

"Even worse!"

"John... They have the Ghost Touch."

The blonde's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he turned to stare at the pair of brunettes. His gaze moved back and forth between Batman and the twins for a while before he said, "Bats, are you bloody serious?" Seeing a confirming nod, the man rubbed a hand down his face in frustration, cursing under his breath. "... Fine, fine, I'll train them, but only because I owe ya." John now looked to the twins. "Come on in; we've got a lot of work to do before the two of you are combat ready."

Emma shared a look with her brother before they followed him inside.

They both had to admit that the house looked pretty great from the inside. It was definitely more than their own family could afford, but it wasn't extravagant either. It was actually pretty homey.

They were brought back to reality when John cleared his throat, having Mikael sit down with some spell books. Emma, meanwhile, was taken to the side to work on combat skills.

She fell flat on her back in ten seconds.

"Bloody Hell, who taught you two about your powers? They must've been a bloody moron; how are you two not _dead_ yet with all the ghosts you've apparently fought?" the English man demanded, throwing his hands in the air.

"Nobody taught us how to use them," Mikael said simply. "We learned about them from the doctor out parents took us to when we first started exhibiting signs of the Ghost Touch, but he had a heart attack and died the day that we were supposed to start our training. He comes to chat every once in a while, but he says it's impossible to teach the kinds of things we're supposed to learn from a dead person."

"Well, he's right about that, but still! Did you never think to look into magic instead of just making salt pellets for a BB gun or searching for iron knives?" the blonde demanded.

"To be fair, he did try; he just couldn't find any spells that weren't fake," Spirit shrugged, having taken over for Emma.

"And what's your excuse? How come _your_ combat skills are absolute rubbish?"

"Easy; Emmy ain't a combat person, and she rarely changes into me unless it's necessary."

John Constantine decided right there that he would never owe a debt to the Bat or the League ever again; he can't afford the combination of liquor and therapy bills.

* * *

"Ah, there ya go. Now, remember, you need to say it as clear as possible, or it'll either backfire and I deal with an angry Batman, or it'll just fizzle out; coin toss on which one, admittedly," John said honestly.

"And you're only telling me this now that I've got the right runes up why?!" Mikael exclaimed, eyes suddenly wide.

"It gives you the incentive to not fail, now cast the spell," the blonde said firmly.

Mikael groaned, but he'd come this far and he wasn't' about to just give up! Taking a deep breath, he uttered the incantation quickly but precisely, managing to hit the target with a big smile. "Yes!"

"Not bad for a beginner. You two aren't as incapable as you seem," the blonde said simply. That was probably the closest thing to a 'good job' the twins were going to get. It had taken time, but they'd figured out that Mikael's problems with magic were due to his roots. Emma and Mikael were both Scandinavian and drew in from the roots of various Scandinavian countries, such as Switzerland and Norway. Thus, they'd turned to magic based around Nordic runes, and Mikael had gotten accustomed to it rather quickly. John wouldn't admit it, but the kid was actually pretty good at this.

Spirit, at the same time, had learned rather quickly how to fight and use her blasts properly, even able to place some of the energy from those blasts into objects so that she could fight without using too much power at once.

All in all, it'd been a pretty productive day so far.

John checked the time and sighed. "Alright, Bats said your folks wanted you home for dinner, and it's getting late. House, you mind popping us over to Fawcett City for these two?"

After a bright flash of light, John opens the door to reveal that they're just above the suburban area. "Can you two make it home from here? I don't wanna deal with any problems you accidentally cause if you get lost."

"We'll be fine; we're actually just a couple streets from our apartment building," Mikael admitted.

Spirit nodded as well, taking her brother's hand and flying him home.

John chuckled as he watched them fly off, closing the door behind them.

"Those two are screwed."

* * *

 **Okay, this ending isn't my best, but I couldn't figure out how else to end this chapter without it looking weird. And I know I kinda went back on my whole 'update once a week or month' deal, but... I made that deal _before_ I discovered Ace Attorney and Persona and became obsessed with completing each of the games, so... yeah.**

 **Anyways, I _do_ hope to update as often as I can; I'm just having a hard time figuring out how to write these two.**


	3. Drop Zone

**Carribean Sea**

 **August 3, 20:08 ECT**

"Now, let me remind you; this a _covert_ operation, which means no getting caught, no being loud and obnoxious, and _absolutely_ nothing that will endanger my sister," Mikael said firmly, staring down his sister's ghostly half.

Spirit rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know; fun is outlawed here; I get the point, magic boy! And really, when are you going to realize that I'm not a different person; that this is just a hidden facet of who Emma Danielson really is?

Mikael rolled his eyes, stretching a bit as Miss M's voice sounded out before he had a chance to respond.

"So, remind me why Spirit doesn't need stealth gear?" Kid Flash asked curiously.

"One of her powers is invisibility," the older twin explained, readjusting his outfit. He was of the honest opinion that a cape wasn't cool unless you were capable of flight. If flying wasn't one of your powers, then a cape was just a flying hazard. However, he took no issue with the loose fitting top of his outfit.

"Ah, so no stealth gear needed," The redhead clarified with a smirk. "And you?"

"My gear turns dark just like yours, Kid Dork," the brunette said simply, adjusting the hood on his head. "I mean, at least my fashion sense is better."

"No way; you look like you just came out of Lord of the Rings!"

"And you look like a walking hotdog!"

Miss M clearing her throat brought the guys out of their argument. "Drop zone A in thirty."

Mikael lifted his head and watched as Aqualad stood, his seat disappearing from the ship as he tapped the icon on his belt, his red top turning pitch black and looking to the Martian once the change was complete. "Ready."

She simply nodded at that. "Putting bioship in camouflage mode."

A moment later, a hole opened in the bottom of the ship, allowing Aqualad to drop down into the sea below.

"So, I got a question for Nighthawk. You know magic, right?" Robin questioned, turning in his seat once KF had dropped from the ship with the others.

Mikael simply nodded. "Some, yes. I know some defensive spells, healing spells, and a few minor attack spells. I also see ghosts," the brunette explained.

"R-Right, but, can you do anything _besides_ that?" the Boy Wonder tossed in, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm captain of my school's boxing team," he said simply, dropping down alongside his sister.

Once down alongside Miss M, Robin, Kid Flash, and Spirit, Nighthawk's eyes widened as he saw Superboy jumping without a line, and the five quickly darted out of the way.

When the dust cleared, the Kryptonian stood with a smirk. "Knew I didn't need a line."

"And yet, creating a seismic event may not have helped us much with the _covert_!" Robin pointed out, shoulders tense.

As Miss M lowered herself back to the ground, she held a hand to the comlink in her ear. "Aqualad, drop B is go."

 _"Head for the factory. I'll track your GPS and rendezvous ASAP."_

"Roger that," Robin said simply, darting off into the woods with the others close behind.

After a while, as they continued into the woods, Miss M slipped back to talk with Spirit, who'd reverted back to Emma for the time being in order to conserve energy.

"Hey, are you alright?" the Martian said softly.

"Hm? O-Oh, uh, n-never better," Emma reassured. "It's just, well... When I was little, I remember always wanting to do things like this; go on big adventures to help people, but now that it's actually happening, I'm scared... I'm not strong like Mikael is."

"You mean, Nighthawk?" the redhead asked gently.

The brunette sighed softly. "Yeah. Captain of the boxing team, big jock on campus, really good with a skateboard... He's strong. He's not afraid to take risks to help people, and he's always there when I need him... But I'm not like that. I'm quiet, reserved, shy, and... I'd be scared of my own shadow if I didn't have him. I'm not brave."

"Hm... Well, I think you're brave. After all, you just said you're scared because you don't think you're strong like him, but you came here anyway. Sounds pretty brave to me," Miss M pointed out, offering a gentle smile to the younger girl.

Emma giggled quietly, blushing and turning away from the Martian, tears of gratitude clouding her vision. "That's kind of you to say, really... thank you."

As their walk continued in silence, Superboy suddenly stopped and said, "Did you hear that?"

"No," Kid Flash started, but then quickly added, "Wait, is this a superhearing thing?"

"You do have great ears," Miss Martian complimented.

However, when Emma saw the look on the Kryptonian's face, she gently said, "What she means is your hearing must be pretty good to hear something so far away, e-even by Kryptonian standards."

"Y-Yeah," the Martian agreed quickly.

KF sighed and then turned to speak to Robin, before noticing that he was nowhere to be seen.

 _"Kid, Superboy, switch to Infrared; see if you're being tracked,"_ Aqualad instructed.

Without so much as a word, the redheaded speedster simply pushed his goggles over his eyes before checking his surroundings. "Got a squad of armed bozos, incoming."

Superboy turned in the opposite direction before correcting him. "Two squads, but they'll meet each other before they find us."

Before any of them could react, they heard bullets sounding.

"No super-hearing needed now," Kid said in a matter-of-fact tone.

 _"Swing wide; steer clear!"_ Aqualad said urgently.

"Yeah, yeah; just as soon as I find Rob," the speedster said simply, but Nighthawk put a hand on his shoulder.

"No offense, Kid, but I think I have a better method than just blindly running after him," the brunette explained. "I can attempt a tracking spell here, while... Em, you cool with shifting for a bit?"

The younger twin simply nodded, a weak but determined smile gracing her features. "Of course. I take it you want me to go invisible and search that way while you try the tracking spell?"

Mikael smirked a bit. "Damn right," he explained, pulling out one of Robin's Birdarangs. "Really glad I managed to snag this off him before the briefing; I can't track without something that belongs to whoever I'm looking for"

"Dude, you seriously took one of Rob's weapons?!" KF demanded.

"Hey, I have something of everyone's for just this sort of scenario. Hell, the only reason I took it was because Rob refused to give it to me willingly," the magic user said firmly. "What did you _think_ I meant when I asked you for a bit of hair?"

"... That you're doing a summer genealogy thing? Dude, I seriously didn't think _anything_ aside from what a weird request it was."

Mikael groaned and simply knelt down on the ground, one hand on his runestone while he used the other to draw a magic tracking circle around the birdarang. "Regardless, I wanted to be able to track you guys in case we were separated, especially since tracking was one of the first spells I mastered. Now, let's follow this thing to Robin."

And of course, the first thing they heard from the Boy Wonder when they finally caught up to him wasn't exactly pleasant, because it required going along a muddy area near the two feuding squadrons, and, of course, Kid Flash and Emma both slipped and slid, landing right between the two groups.

"So much for the stealthy," the speedster mumbled, lifted Emma into his arms and running to avoid bullets.

Emma, meanwhile, quickly shifted forms and maintained intangibility on them both, just to be safe.

"What is wrong with you guys?!" Robin demanded as he dropped down. "Remember _covert_? Why didn't you follow my lead and vanish into the jungle!"

"Dude, aside from Miss M, none of us are mind-readers!" Mikael said firmly, launching a wind spell through a series of quick hand gestures, mainly using his index and middle fingers. "We can't be expected to know what's going on because none of us have worked with you before now!"

Once all the enemies were tied up, Robin's eyes widened. "Wait a minute, I know those masks; they're part of a cult called Kobra."

"I'm certain that Batman would've mentioned something if he knew a dangerous extremist group was running Santa Prisca's Venom operations," Aqualad said firmly.

"Agreed," Robin nodded. "And since there's clearly no love lost between the cultists and these goons, I'm betting that Kobra came in and tossed them out."

"Which would explain why the usual supply lines have been cut off," Mikael picked up, crossing his arms as he readjusted his hood.

"We get it: Kobra wanted super-cultists; mystery-solved," Kid Flash said in a bored tone. "Radio Bats and we'll be home in time for-"

"Sorry to tell you this, Mini-Flash, but that's not right. These cultists ain't _on_ Venom; trust the word of someone who's been in a boxing match against someone on venom," Nighthawk argued. "My guess is that Kobra's hoarding the stuff."

"Agreed," Robin added. "We don't leave. Not until I know why."

"Until _you_ know why?" the redhead checked.

"This team _needs_ a leader!" the raven defended.

"And it's _you_? Dude, you're a thirteen-year-old kid, who ducked out on us without a word!"

"Haha, and you're a mature fifteen? You blew our cover first chance you got!"

"Don't you wanna lead?" Miss M asked Superboy.

The Kryptonian simply scoffed. "No... You?"

"After the Mister Twister fiasco?" she pointed out, holding up a hand as if to say, 'Yeah, no thanks'.

"You did alright," Superboy reassured with a firm smile, causing the girl to blush.

Once she'd regained her composure, she turned her attention to the Danielson twins. "What about you two?"

"I already deal with a bunch of sweaty, hormonal teenage guys on the boxing team; I don't need to add a bunch of supers to my list of stressors," Mikael said simply, crossing his arms in disdain. He loved his boxing teammates, really, but sometimes it was hard being captain of the team. It was a lot of work, and them whining whenever he wanted to go over strategies at competitions just made things harder.

"After how I helped blow our cover a minute ago? No thanks," Emma said simply. "Besides the fact, I'm better suited to taking orders than giving them. Spirit would just make everyone rush in, guns blazing, and I wouldn't be able to get the attention required to give orders as myself.

"You don't even have any powers!"

"Neither does Batman!"

"Duh! You're _not_ Batman!"

"Duh! Closest thing we've got!"

One of the men they'd apprehended chuckled a bit. "Such clever Ninos, but you only know half the story. Let me show you the rest; get you into the factory via my secret entrance."

Emma turned and shared a certain, knowing glance with her brother. Their faces both had the same words written on them.

 _'Why do we have a distinct feeling that this night is going to get much worse before it gets any better?'_

* * *

 **Wow, two updates on separate stories in one night? Witchcraft!**

 **Lol, just kidding. I'm currently hyped up on an oral steroid to help with some throat pain and can't sleep, so yeah.**

 **Decided to work on this while I could. So, since I clearly am incapable of keeping to a chapter-a-week schedule with this fic, I'm going to change it to a chapter-a-month update policy instead. I'll try to add more at the end of each month or so.**

 **I ended up cutting this short because I really wanted to skip Miss M reading Bane's mind without the skip being awkward. Also, I feel incapable of making this chapter go any longer**

 **And yeah, Mikael is captain of his boxing team and has the leadership experience, but while he might play an advisatory role from time-to-time, Aqualad will still be team leader here; ain't nothing gonna change that.**

 **As for how Mikael's magic looks, go to Fairy Tail and think of the hand-motions Levy makes when using solid script unless I specifically say otherwise like with the tracking spell.**

 **Sincerely,**

 **MckennaTennyson-Harper12**


	4. Drop Zone pt 2

**Person002: Hehe... So, funny story about the timestamps, actually... the timestamp on the official episode is actually June 22, but when you pointed it out, I went back and changed that, because apparently, the show staff never noticed. They did join the team before they trained with Constantine, but their joining was mostly a formal introduction and a night of bonding; they had _at minimum_ one day of training before their first mission. And thanks for the advice on my writing!**

 **Guest 1 and 2: Sorry the update didn't get out at the end of the month like I'd promised; I was on a family vacation and was not allowed to use my Dad's computer for this kind of thing while I was gone.**

 **Disclaimer: The only characters I own in this work are the ones that were not originally present in the Young Justice Television series. All other characters belong to their respective owners.**

* * *

"Jag tycker fortfarande att det här är en dålig idé," Mikael said to his sister, fixing his facial covering.

"Mick, English," Spirit said simply, stretching a bit.

"Sorry... But still... This seems like a really bad idea. And I should know bad ideas; I'm the _king_ of bad ideas," the brunette said firmly, arms crossed as he followed behind his teammates.

"We're all clear," Robin said after peeking into the factory.

After moving further in, Spirit sighed as Kid Flash took off after Robin. "I swear, those two take the whole 'teen boys are immature' stereotype to levels I never thought possible."

"The closer two people are, the more they argue," Mikael said simply. "But geez, you guys seeing the size of this shipment?"

"Yeah, but they're only taking the new product off the line," Superboy pointed out, gesturing to the crate in front of them. "They're not touching _this_ venom."

"Maybe freshness counts?" Miss M offered.

"Normally, I'd agree with that, since you're not supposed to ingest drugs past their expiration date, but this time, I think it's different," Mikael said honestly.

"What makes you say that?" Aqualad questioned.

"Spirits; loads of em," the brunette explained. Seeing the confused looks on his teammates' faces, he sighed. "The thing me and my sister have works one of two ways depending on your personality. Since I was bolder and more abrasive when we hit twelve, I got the communicative powers; I see and hear spirits. Spirits are attracted to dangerous objects; the more dangerous it is, the more spirits I'll see with it, and there's a hell of a lot more around the new product than the old. My guess is that something's different with the new product; something that makes it more dangerous."

Out of nowhere, Superboy's eyes widened. "Helicopter's coming."

His words caused the teens to turn their attention towards the sky, and Aqualad to press a finger to the comm-link in his ear. The Atlantean then groaned in irritation when he heard static. "I can't get through to Robin or Kid. Spirit, go find them, and Miss Martian, get us a visual on the supplier."

The pair simply nodded, Spirit turning invisible as Miss Martian went to camouflage before going off for their separate missions.

Mikael bit his lip, grabbing his sister's hand before she left. "Be careful."

He couldn't see her response, but he had a feeling she acknowledged his request.

Mikael sighed softly. "Man, I really wish I had that Scrying spell mastered. If I had, I think I'd be way more useful."

"You're doing your best," Aqualad said simply, closing his eyes. Mikael assumed this was to receive a telepathic message from Miss Martian. After a moment, the Atlantean's eyes went wide. "Sportsmaster? _He_ is the buyer?"

Mikael frowned at that, instinctively pressing two fingers to the communication device in his ear before groaning in irritation. "I got static; can't get through to the League, and Spirit, Kid, and Robin are still MIA... Any ideas?"

"I have a plan," Bane said simply, dropping down to take out two of the Kobra cultists.

"What is he-oh crud!" Mikael exclaimed, noticing a large man with green skin and red hair descending on them through the broken window.

He quickly stepped between Superboy and Aqualad and raised one hand to the air while pressing the other to the runestone around his neck, a magic circle appearing in the air in front of his raised hand as he called out, "Beskytte!"

The clouded red dome that encircled them fended off the attack, but the sheer force of it still ended with the trio falling to the ground.

As Superboy took on the Behemoth, Aqualad put up a shield, which Nighthawk hid behind as well. "Don't suppose you mind me hiding back here while I wait for my runestone to recharge?"

"Not at all," the Atlantean said simply, using one water bearer to create a shield and the other to occasionally fire a small water blast at the enemy.

The mystic simply nodded, gazing at his stone in irritation. If he prepared his spell like he had with the tracking spell, then it usually didn't require him to do anything but channel his own energy through the stone, and the same went for minor attack spells. However, for any major spell that wasn't used with a circle, he had to use the energy tied to his runestone.

It was an irritating weakness that came with using runic magic and left him highly vulnerable to distanced attacks.

The brunette followed Aqualad behind a pillar, groaning as the light of the rune began returning to him, but much too slowly for his liking.

"Miss Martian, radio is jammed! Link us up!" Aqualad insisted loudly, trying to make his voice heard over the enemy fire.

Moments later, the brunette heard a high pitched whine in his mind, before the red-haired martian's voice crackled through. _'Everyone online?'_

Superboy mentally sighed before saying, _'Yeah._ _'_

 _'You know it beautiful,'_ Kid Flash responded from behind a pillar of his own.

 _'... I'm choosing to wait until_ after _we're safe from enemy fire to ask,'_ Mikael decided, trying to keep himself from freaking out.

 _'This is so freaking weird, but yes,'_ Spirit jumped in from where she was attempting to overshadow one of the cultists.

 _'Good. We need to regroup,'_ Aqualad said firmly.

 _'Busy now,'_ Robin said-er, thought?- in a sing-song tone.

 _'... I'll grab the Boy Blunder and catch up,'_ the ghostly girl said simply.

Once Spirit located Robin, she sighed in relief. It didn't seem like he knew she was here, which meant an easy overshadowing. People were a lot easier to overshadow when they didn't know she was coming, and once she'd taken him over, his mind would basically go to sleep.

The girl quickly turned intangible before going into the raven's body and doing all she could to not shudder. She _hated_ overshadowing males; it was so uncomfortable to take over a body that was so different compared to your own!

Still, she moved forward, taking a flash bomb from the Boy Wonder's belt and throwing it down before turning invisible the moment it went off, in order to find the rest of the team.

Once they were in the tunnels, she quickly moved out of him and sighed in relief, dropping down and shifting back to Emma in order to recover some energy.

"Superboy, the support beams!" Aqualad called out.

Without asking what he meant, the Kryptonian simply launched his fists into the beams, allowing the cave to collapse on itself.

"How could my first mission as leader go so _wrong_?" Robin questioned quietly, not even _looking_ in the team's direction.

The girl didn't really blame him; overshadowing was as much of an extreme violation of privacy as unconsented telepathy.

Mikael sighed. "You have a lot of experience working _in_ a team, but because that team is only you and the Bat, I think that's what leaves you so unprepared to lead _this_ team."

"Indeed," Aqualad picked up. "Fighting alongside Batman, your roles are... _defined_ ; you two do not need to talk. But this team is _new_ , and a leader must be clear, explicit. They cannot vanish and expect others to play a part in an unknown plan."

"So _I'm_ supposed to hold everyone's hands?!" Robin demanded.

Nighthawk simply lowered the covering that hid the lower half of his face before kneeling down next to the Boy Wonder. "Actually, yeah. I don't know much about how superhero teams operate, but in any team sport, that's how it works; the leader has to think about _everyone_ ; their strengths and weaknesses, and where they'll do best in a given scenario. It's not an easy job, but leading a team means taking on a role that's very similar to that of a parent. We work _together_ for a given outcome, and that requires a lot of communication."

Robin frowned, trying to keep up his pride, before sighing. "Ah, who am I kidding? You should lead us, Kaldur... You're the only one who can."

"And to keep Kid Idiot from saying something stupid... How about a vote? All in favor of Aqualad as leader?" Mikael questioned before raising his face covering again, as well as his hand.

Everyone chimed in with some form of 'aye', and Kaldur simply smiled.

"Very well. Then I accept this burden," he said, placing a hand on Robin's shoulder. "Until you are ready to lift it from my shoulders."

* * *

"Sportsmaster's the supplier/buyer, but it still doesn't track," Robin said honestly, looking at his holographic computer as the team ran towards the exit. "He doesn't have the juice to acquire the Blockbuster formula, or to get Kobra to do his dirty work."

"And neither of them have the chops to bond blockbuster with venom; _that_ took some major nerdage," Wally agreed.

"I believe the expression is, tip of the iceberg," Aqualad said honestly, coming to a stop as he saw Bane right in front of them.

The large, muscular man then dropped some small bombs down between himself and the group of teens as he smirked. "Halt, Ninos. I'm feeling... _explosive_."

"You betrayed us," Aqualad said, feigning surprise as Spirit turned invisible from behind them, quietly flying up behind Bane to provide backup if needed. "Why?"

"I want my factory back," Bane said simply, while Aqualad instructed Kid to be ready to take a running start. "So I forced you into a situation where you'd either take down my enemies or die trying. If the latter, the Justice League would certainly have come to avenge their sidekicks, and when the smoke cleared, Santa Prisca would be mine once more. Blowing the tunnel with you inside should have the same effect."

Right before Bane could press the button on his trigger, Wally sped past and grabbed it from him.

"With what?" the speedster grinned. "This trigger thingy?"

Before the older man could land a punch on the redhead, Miss Martian telekinetically lifted him off the ground and turned him so he was facing the group in the tunnels

"Finally," Superboy grinned, ready to get his rage out. "Drop him."

* * *

As Kid Flash sped in and began taking down some of the Kobra cultists, Mikael dropped behind Sportsmaster with help from Spirit, in order to keep him away from Superboy and Miss Martian, taking turns firing small attacks at the assassin.

Nighthawk fired spell after spell at the man, trying to use minor ones in order to make his energy last longer, eyes going wide when he noticed that he'd depleted it rather quickly. "Spirit, I'm out! Buy me some time while I recharge!"

"You got it!" the white-haired girl said simply, dodging Sportsmaster's attack one by one until she was shot down thanks to a lack of backup, as was Mikael.

When the twins came to, the factory was on fire.

"Well... Pretty sure that was the opposite of a covert operation, but nobody got hurt, and we got some good intel... I call that a win," the brunette grinned, removing his hood and face covering.

"Uh, dude... you've got a bad burn on your arm from the laser guns, and a fair-sized bruise on your temple from when you were knocked out," Kid Flash pointed out.

"He has this habit of coming back from ghost hunts worse than this; trust me when I say that he'll be fine," Spirit said simply.

The team then turned their attention to Kaldur, who was gazing at the burning factory.

"We picked the right guy to lead. Automatically making _you_ the right guy to explain this mess to Batman," Robin grinned before he began laughing.

Nighthawk sighed and went up to the Atlantean. "Hey... Keep in mind that a large part of this mess was because nobody was ready to figure out who should lead. And if you want a little backup, I'll help explain things," he promised.

Aqualad smiled, simply nodding at that.

They were in for a long lecture.

* * *

 **Mount Justice**

 **August 4, 01:06 EDT**

"A _simple_ recon mission: _observe_ and report," Batman pointed out, causing each of the teen's shoulders to slump. "You'll _each_ receive a written evaluation detailing your _many_ mistakes. Until then... Good job."

Everyone's eyes widened, and they immediately turned their gazes from the floor to the Bat.

"No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy," the Dark Knight said simply. "How you adjust to the unforeseen is what determines success, and how you choose who leads determines character."

Once the Bat was gone, they all fell out of the military style lineup they'd been placed into.

"Okay, after the stress of the past few hours, I think I'm ready to relax in the rec room," Mikael said softly, rubbing the back of his neck with his uninjured arm.

"But, Mom and Dad will be waiting for us," Emma pointed out, chewing on her necklace like she often did when nervous.

"I called when I was getting my arm treated. By the time we get back to Fawcett, it'll be _way_ too late for us to get some rest, so they said we could hang out here for a while," the boy promised his little sister.


	5. The Talk(About Superpowers)

**To anyone who wonders why Spirit didn't get a huge lecture about overshadowing from the team... This chapter explains it, because it takes place after the mission, but before Batman's lecture.**

 **I only own the Danielsons, and other OCs that'll be introduced later on.**

"Hey, guys," Mikael said with a small smile as his teammates-Emma excluded- entered the rec room. He paused his game and frowned when he noticed the serious looks on their faces, guessing what was wrong. "Team meeting? What's this about?"

"We need your advice on how to bring up the subject of boundaries to your sister," Aqualad said simply. "She overstepped them in our latest mission."

"Oh... Oh, uh, this is... This is totally about the whole 'overshadowing Robin' thing, isn't it?" the brunette guessed, running a hand through his hair.

"She completely disregarded my privacy on our mission!" Robin exclaimed, not too happy about being used as a meat puppet.

"It wasn't right; I know that," Mick reassured. "But, believe me, it wasn't entirely Emma. When she shifts into Spirit, her personality does a complete flip-flop. Emma cares a little too much about other people, but Spirit... Spirit doesn't give a rat's fat, hairy butt about people's privacy. Look, I promise I'll talk to her, but please don't bring this up to Emma. She feels awful about it, and I just want to make sure she knows it wasn't her; not really. I know the whole 'personality switch' thing is no excuse, but she'll learn; I promise."

"... You swear that you'll talk to her about this behavior?" Aqualad checked, arms crossed.

"To be honest, I should've added 'no overshadowing team members' to her list of 'Do Not' from the start, so it's partially my fault," he explained, rubbing the back of his neck in shame. "It's my job to keep her in line, and I failed. I apologize for that."

"You're not responsible for what your sister does," Wally remarked, offering a small smile and crossing his arms. "And if she's struggling with control, then it's not really her fault either."

"Actually, it is," when everyone turned, they saw Emma standing in the doorway, hugging herself tightly. "I-I'm really sorry about what happened; I lose all my inhibitions when my powers are active... Believe me when I say it wasn't any more comfortable for me."

Robin frowned at her. "... I get that, but it'll take a little bit of time for me to move past this."

"I-I know, and I accept that," she reassured, bowing her head slightly before turning to head out. "I'm gonna head home, Mick; I'll see you later."

Mikael simply nodded, seeing her to the zeta before returning to the rec room to continue his game. He knew, logically, that his sister had the tendency to break down into a nervous wreck after scenarios like this, but their parents were just as equipped to deal with this as he was, and he figured she could use some time to calm down. Besides; she'd just end up feeling _worse_ if she thought her brother had to stop partway through his game to come after her. So, as such, he returned to the currently unbeaten Twilight Princess, and the anger-inducing dungeon known as City in the Sky.

His main problem was that he kept backtracking by accident, ending up in the same corridors multiple times. This resulted in several ragequits, and eventually ended with him deciding to just go home, grinning when he saw Emma catching up on Cowboy Bebop.

The twins usually watched it together, but Emma had been behind due to practicing her powers with John at every chance she had. However, Mick had decided to wait once he knew he was getting close to the season finale, and judging by the episode his sister was currently on, they'd be able to watch it together.

The moment the season finale was on, Mick sighed. He didn't want to have this conversation with her, especially after what had happened at the cave earlier, but he'd promised Aqualad and the others that he'd talk to her, and promises were meant to be kept. "Hey, Ems? Before we start, can we talk?"

"... It's about the whole 'overshadowing Robin while in ghost mode' thing, isn't it?" she guessed, pulling her knees to her chest as her expression turned sad and downtrodden. "I swear, I didn't mean to; it just happened! I know that it's no excuse, but... I'm really working hard to get control..."

Mikael simply wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. "I know you are, sis. You're doing your best. I mean, I'm still not that great at magic," he pointed out. "It's taking time."

"You only started learning magic a couple weeks ago, Mick," She pointed out, hiding her face in her knees, the blanket over her legs muffling her voice. "I've had my powers for three years now, and I barely have more control now than I did then."

"Hm... Hey, Em? I'm going to tell you something John said to me when I was having trouble with one of my spells, but you need to be watching, okay?" the older of the twins said simply, brushing a bit of tear-soaked hair away from her face.

Emma pouted, but complied with her brother's request, watching his hands as he seemed to sketch in the air with light, creating lovely patterns from the sparks. "Think about how some people make hard-boiled eggs in the microwave. If you use too much time and heat, it'll explode, but if you use too little, then it won't cool at all. Imagine that the egg is a bad guy; someone that you're supposed to stop. These are real people that can take actual damage, whereas a spirit would be able to handle a little excessive punching. You know that, and you're so scared of making the egg explode that you're not using enough power, and it's subconsciously weakening the control you have in that form."

"... I'm going to pretend that you actually _did_ get that from John and not from a manga."

"Either way, you know it's true. Just keep practicing: cook the egg, but don't make it explode."

* * *

 **?**

 **?**

"Ugh, that was exhausting!" a pale-skinned young man whined, arching his back to stretch and then sighing in relief. "Man, I seriously wish that the dogs couldn't see me."

After a moment, the same young man continued to walk down the streets of a big city, strands of dark blue hair stuck to his sweaty forehead.

"Either way, you'd think that running from a dog would be easier when you're a ghost."

* * *

 **And so enters a brand new character that I'd never even thought to add until I realized that I don't trust myself to ship Emma with a canon character... Yet; this character may end up as just a friend, but we'll see.**

 **To answer any reviews... you asked, and I have delivered.**

 **The updates are coming slowly because I'm in my first year of college and things have been a little rocky. Plus, I kinda haven't been watching much of the old series, what with the new season being out and all. But I'm doing my best.**

 **Now, to address any complaints about Mikael being the one to talk down his sister or the team being too soft on her... I didn't know how to write them being completely furious without turning Emma into a sobbing mess and making her into the victim. I mean, I kinda did that here anyway, but I felt that having Mikael talk to her was the best way to have her actually learn something instead of just having me make the team into the bad guys for maknig my OC cry. I don't want her to be a mary sue or anything; I want her to be realistic... Well, as realistic as girl with superpowers can be.**

 **Signing off,**

 **MKT-H12**


End file.
